Tag Archives: soup

Soup saves my life and soul. Seriously! It is generally quick, easy and super-nutritious. I like it at breakfast, lunch and dinner! Soup can be a big time saver as well, and helps to use up leftover veg if you do it right.

Here’s a quick-and-dirty primer on cream of something soup:

Cut some onion, garlic, and carrots into a small dice then sweat (c’mon, you DO know how to sweat a veg, right? Any food TV vet should know how to do this. If you don’t go find Alton Brown on FTV. He is sure to have the most efficient manner recorded) with some salt and oil in a Dutch oven (or deep stainless steel pan) until tender. Try not to chop the tips of your finders off while doing this or obsess over the perfection of each tiny dice since everything will be blended and your efforts will be for naught. Add 4 cups of veg, whatever you have handy such as zucchini, cauliflower, asparagus, cabbage, potato, turnips, parsnips, leeks, greens, anything that you like. You will need to add at least two cups of stock: beef, chicken, fish, whatever your pref. Just remember to mentally “pair” the veg with the stock to make sure you like the combo.

Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are tender. Puree soup in batches with one of those nifty wand-a-majiggers then put back into the pot; at that point taste for salt/seasoning. Optional: Chop up some roasted red peppers and stir into the soup along with some grated cheese if you fancy. Finally: cream! I like to stir in cream but not to the point of runniness. Pepper the top, baybee! Finally, with a tip ‘o the hat to Sally and NT, add a dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche after ladling into the bowl. Heavenly!